A common theme you will see in Zone Coverage is drop back, take away the deep, and then come crashing down hard to anything underneath. Hook Zone defenders are now in better position on shallow route combinations, which mixes perfectly with Flat Zone defenders being in better position on deep route combinations.

In Man Coverage, we have redone the system for reacting to cuts by WRs. Instead of waiting for the right point in the cut for the defender to react, we ensure that the defender gets to a specified coverage point based on the cover type (off Man or Trail), the route type, and player ratings (Route Running vs. Man Coverage).

Ratings matchups will play more of a role as defenders vie for underneath or overtop positions. There’s no more “wait and break” positioning, as it is more realistic. If players do get beat, the separation will not be as exaggerated as in past years of Madden.

Remember: Only certain defenders have outstanding Man Coverage (MCV) ratings, so keep that in mind when calling Man defense. Know your players’ abilities and put them in position to succeed.

I really like the concept of programming the AI for each player on every play to make actual football decisions and reads, I hope they continue to build on that year over year. In the stream Rex mentioned adding force calls, hopefully that leads to adding proper fits and gap responsibility as a whole, also linked to ratings. People way more football savvy than me, have been pushing for real football AI logic in-game forever, it doesn't take away from the casual fun of the game because the AI has to be programmed to do something, that something might as well be sound.

As far as the part about ratings, I like that there is a difference in the AI behavior based on ratings and I think there has to be another layer or compliment added to that, animation tiers. Again I'm not saying anything others haven't already been saying for years but the point still stands. Representing the mental aspect of the game is great but you have to account for physical technique too, so you don't have every player out there moving the same, only differentiated by reaction time.

Well all sounds promising. Even if it's only executed somewhat it's still a big improvement over past maddens. My friend and I played madden 07 on the original xbox the other day. Now that defence was tough back then ( partially thanks to warping)

The only thing that worries me is, with the players reacting better, being smarter and moving faster, is that with these unrealistic movements somethings could become frustrating. I want them to make plays obviously and be tough, but I still saw instances in the trailer where players legs clipped through each to get into position. That shuffling, back pedaling and turning has to be fixed next year. The turning is much better on Madden 15, but the back pedaling and shuffling is still bad.

I just hate seeing a players legs clip through his own legs, it just looks absolutely horrible, and this movement was used to help players get to position faster. The clipping and sliding must go.

Damn does this game look good in stills. I cant wait for the day I can say that about actual footage.

OT: This sounds very promising and hopefully its implemented well. Just like BIG said tiered animations to differentiate defenders and receivers getting beat or coming out of breaks. Should be something they focus on heavily with WR/DB interactions next year. And hopefully dont leave it at that.

The only thing that worries me is, with the players reacting better, being smarter and moving faster, is that with these unrealistic movements somethings could become frustrating. I want them to make plays obviously and be tough, but I still saw instances in the trailer where players legs clipped through each to get into position. That shuffling, back pedaling and turning has to be fixed next year. The turning is much better on Madden 15, but the back pedaling and shuffling is still bad.

I just hate seeing a players legs clip through his own legs, it just looks absolutely horrible, and this movement was used to help players get to position faster. The clipping and sliding must go.

This. I saw that as well. Ultimately, I will take it for better defense tho.

Something else that worries me tho, is the good coverage players really need to be differentiated from the bad coverage players. Not everyone should be playing perfect cover 2 coverage. Some guys should be playing it the old way because their coverage ratings are low. We know how EA overdoes thing. I'm just hoping every Cb isn't a Revis Island now.

The screens look pretty slick man. I know that really doesn't mean anything important, but can't help but notice.

I have read all about this Player Sense 2.0 for a while now. I need to see it with my own eyes before really making a judgment. In the limited gameplay footage we have seen so far I honestly haven't seen too much of these new features yet. Hoping to get some real solid gameplay vids soon.

Also, I really hope EA has worked on "Coach Sense" so CPU playcalling isn't repetitive and brain dead along with their game management and roster handling.

This. I saw that as well. Ultimately, I will take it for better defense tho.

Something else that worries me tho, is the good coverage players really need to be differentiated from the bad coverage players. Not everyone should be playing perfect cover 2 coverage. Some guys should be playing it the old way because their coverage ratings are low. We know how EA overdoes thing. I'm just hoping every Cb isn't a Revis Island now.

Yes - but at the NFL level I'd like to see players ATTEMPTING to do their job. Don't make my corner run in a circle or go off on some crazy path just because he's not very good. The weaker corners, for example, will react slower, and quite simply, will still make attempts at making plays, they will just make fewer of them. Not having realistic player movement really damages this game, because under the hood lies the potential to be great, but without realistic player movement AND interactions (the interactions need a lot of work too), some of it is just not prevalent.

1) looks like defenders are swatting more than previous years which is very much needed. If they can implement more swats instead of always interceptions, they can keep tuning the passing game making passes a lot more inaccurate.

2) After this article, one thing is clear - they do seem to undertand the issues of the game and know how it works in real life in attempt to fix it, now if they can fully implement it into the game is yet to be seen.

yea right, been here done that. how many times are we gonna fall for this "this new feature is rebuilt/redone/so much better etc" and it turns out to be a complete dud? really wish i could recruit my fellow football fans to boycott madden just a month. i know that boycotting it the whole year would not be possible, but how about none of us buy it til 30 days after the release? that would not only send a message to that crapfest of a company but also bring on a price cut.

my predictions
-minimal changes to the gameplay. the roster will the be the only real change
-90 percent of the stuff these Madden blogs to proclaiming will not work even close to what their promising.
-all improvements will be marginal ones with graphics being the main focus.

anyone wanna try and dispute that? because i have the last 5 years of madden as evidence.

yea right, been here done that. how many times are we gonna fall for this "this new feature is rebuilt/redone/so much better etc" and it turns out to be a complete dud? really wish i could recruit my fellow football fans to boycott madden just a month. i know that boycotting it the whole year would not be possible, but how about none of us buy it til 30 days after the release? that would not only send a message to that crapfest of a company but also bring on a price cut.

my predictions
-minimal changes to the gameplay. the roster will the be the only real change
-90 percent of the stuff these Madden blogs to proclaiming will not work even close to what their promising.
-all improvements will be marginal ones with graphics being the main focus.

anyone wanna try and dispute that? because i have the last 5 years of madden as evidence.

I would say we've seen most of these features in action. Buy the game on release to show that we appreciate the transparency and dedication to improving the fundamentals.

yea right, been here done that. how many times are we gonna fall for this "this new feature is rebuilt/redone/so much better etc" and it turns out to be a complete dud? really wish i could recruit my fellow football fans to boycott madden just a month. i know that boycotting it the whole year would not be possible, but how about none of us buy it til 30 days after the release? that would not only send a message to that crapfest of a company but also bring on a price cut.

my predictions
-minimal changes to the gameplay. the roster will the be the only real change
-90 percent of the stuff these Madden blogs to proclaiming will not work even close to what their promising.
-all improvements will be marginal ones with graphics being the main focus.

anyone wanna try and dispute that? because i have the last 5 years of madden as evidence.

Sadly this could be true, but Clint and Rex have given me a slither of hope.

They're fine. I actually prefer an always connected experience.
I'd really prefer an offline way to play, but its not a bother.
I don't really like them, and am more reluctant to buy a game because of it.
I won't buy them. I want my games offline.